Wednesday 12 October 2022

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Pelecanus ("pelican") erythrorhynchos ("red billed") 

Two adult American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) at Hayward, California - September 2022


Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 3.5-13.6kg  /  Length: 50-70cm  /  Wingspan: 240-300cm
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Least Concern

An emormous bird - which reaches the top 15 or so by any metric of largest extant flying species, and in the top 2 or 3 of any listing for North America. I saw them fairly regularly throughout my trip to California, but in most instances only thermalling at extreme height in large flocks - only on the last day did I see these two individuals at anything resembling close range.

Related Species:
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Pelecanidae
Genus: Pelecanus
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED STATES 

Patchy breeder in central and Western Lower 48, Wimtering in CSouthern alifornia and Florida through Texas
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen at Hayward  and San Jose

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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